The silence beyond Bayeux - November 2009
|
THE SILENCE
BEYOND BAYEUX
“Your Name is Liberty’
“On Monday 5th June 1944 we knew the game was on!...
There was no resounding fanfare of farewell….
Nobody called the troops to attention…we knew it was time to go!
As we approached the spectacular sight of The Needles, we were all well aware that we would remember this evening for the rest of our lives. We had gone over our plans carefully, and the soldiers on the mess desk were already singing their way into battle.
Although some of us were supposed to sleep….
I think we just took turns to lie down for a while…
All around us the amazing armada was sailing silently towards France.”
We crossed the Channel once again, 65 years later, to visit the beaches and battlefields and to remember with pride that it was here… on a summer’s day long ago that brave men of many nations took part in the greatest battle of all time…. The Invasion of Normandy.
Across these waters sailed that great fleet of over six thousand ships, and across these beaches stormed the gallant soldiers of the Allied armies in every town and village and farmstead from Caen to Coursulles ; from Ouistreham to Arromanches, and from Bayeux to St Mere Eglise there are vivid reminders of the heavy fighting and every action, and everyone involved is remembered as if it were yesterday.
The names of the warships and regiments, the airborne and the commandos came trippingly off the tongue as we reminded each other of the people we knew who were there in the forefront of the action, especially on Gold Beach, where the Hampshire and Dorsets, the Green Howards and the Durham Light Infantry played leading roles. Port en Bassin also took a special place in our tour as we recalled the courageous action of 47 Royal Marine Commando who liberated the port and thus secured the strategic terminal for the famous pipeline PLUTO.When we were all assembled, there were courteous words of welcome to the village, then as the ceremony proceeded we were all gently surprised by the reading of the names of those young soldiers who had been killed in the battle here.
Everywhere we went we were impressed by the generous welcome from the French people and the grand ceremonies arranged to pay tribute to all those who had lost their lives in the battles. There were splendid preparations made at the American Cemetery in Colville for the visit of President Obama, and at Bayeux for the visit of Prince Charles, and thousands of people from many countries were taking part in the pilgrimage to mark the 65th anniversary of the invasion. We made a special point of joining in the ceremonies at Caen Museum, Colville Montgomery, Arromanches and, of course, Bayeux where many of our friends are buried or have their names recorded on the memorial colonnade which bears the inscription.
“We once conquered by William have now set free the Conqueror's native land.”
Many times we heard the “Last Post” being sounded, and shared the Silence and “Reveille” with thousands of people, remembering together all those who had fought here to begin the liberation of France. On our final day, however, we decided to drive further into the battle field to explore the route some of our local lads had followed in their advance into enemy occupied territory.
On a fine Sunday morning we left the beaches behind us and drove
through the historic town of Bayeux and onwards into the beautiful countryside of Normandy. There was no sign of war here now, instead either side of us were the sunlit green fields of France. This was the way our soldiers had advanced many years ago, but we could see no hiding place here for a fox, let alone for a young solider moving forward to liberate the small village hidden in the hollow ahead.
In the calmness of the morning we glided into the quiet spacious village of Lingevres. The bold Norman church dominated the scene, but only the Memorial at the road junction showed the scars of wartime where gun damage had purposely not been repaired. All was quiet and calm and no villagers were in sight.
Suddenly there was an unexpected stirring of the emotions as the stillness was broken by the sound of a piper in the distance…. and soon a quiet procession of soldiers, veterans and villagers moved into view, and approached the small memorial near the church. Everyone moved in dignified calmness. On the left of us were representatives of the faithful Durham Light Infantry… and the Dragoon Guards, on the night the villagers in their Sunday best, led by the Mayor with his distinctive red, white and blue sash, and in front a small group of children holding large flowers in tribute.
High above us the Church Bell boomed out the hour of eleven and bound us all in a deeply moving and very personal silence…. And still the soldiers’ names were being called out. So our thoughts were linked in a very dramatic way with those we knew personally, and those now being remembered with affection by everyone here in this small French village, sixty-five years after the liberation.
The Mayor nodded to the children and they moved first to lay their flowers, then the Mayor brought forward a beautiful red, white and blue wreath and invited the children to help him to lay the village tribute to the soldiers who had been killed in the battle for Lingevres. Then we laid our poppies.
For many, the silence continued long after the ceremony, and I remembered some words given to me by another French Mayor many years ago.
“In my school exercise book,
On my desk … and on the trees.
In the sand,….and in the snow.
I write your Name … LIBERTY.”
James Madden ( Member of St Mary the Virgin Whickham)
|
